Six gardens to be featured on garden tour

@MindynortonGardens in all of their summer beauty will be open for viewing next weekend in the Evening Bloomers Garden Walk in Mt. Pleasant.

In all, six gardens will be part of the tour, set for 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, June 30. Tickets are $5, which may be paid at the time you start the garden tour.

The garden locations are:Andrea and Ken Hofmeister, 870 Hiawatha Drive. This is the hospitality garden as well.

Ginko Tree Inn, 304 N. Main St.

Gloria and DeVere Bixler, 1604 Belmont

George and Donna Ronan, 605 Kinney

Sue and Walt “Bill” Bisard, 1113 Wendrow Way

Central Michigan University Community Garden, west end of Theunissen Stadium parking lot.

The Evening Bloomers started the garden tour in 2002, according to Betty Assman, president of Evening Bloomers. Tours usually get 150 to 175 participants.

“It’s a special thing for the community, but it makes a little money for our garden club too,” Assman said. The club takes care of the garden patch along M-20 on the east side of Mt. Pleasant, and donates to the Michigan Garden Club Inc., which sends money to Belize, where it is used to help students. The state club also awarded 19 scholarships statewide last year.

Assman said visitors enjoy seeing the gardens.

“I think they are curious when they drive by, and this gives them a reason to stop,” she said.

“It’s like the house walk,” added Andrea Hofmeister. “You get ideas.”

“They see a plant, and they go, ‘oh, this works in the shade,’ or they will ask, ‘What is this? How do we get this?’ ... It gives them inspiration, not only ideas, but inspiration.”

Andrea and Ken HofmeisterThe Hofmeisters’ gardens are set back in the deep woods, not far from the Chippewa River.

They said special shade-loving varieties are the best choices for their property.

They have lived in the house since 1999, and garden has changed over the years, sometimes drastically.

Trees are a big part of the garden. The Hofmeisters have taken out more than 100 poplar trees, and are adding new native trees, including a purple beech, an oak, two Emerald Queens, three species of flowering cherry trees, and Frazier Furs, among others.

A chip-wood path enables one to walk through the yard, enjoying the trees and flowers.

The family has a compost system and 50-gallon water barrels that pick up water from the roof through downspouts. They also have experimented with species of plants and protective devices to discourage deer foraging.

The Hofmeisters plan to put up pictures of flowers that will not be in bloom at the time of the tour.

Sue and Walt “Bill” BisardThe striking feature of this garden in the hillside back yard is its five terraced levels. Some parts of the garden are sunny, but walk a few feet to the shady areas, and the temperature noticeably drops.

The Bisards have several things in the garden that are tributes to loved ones. Two antique tractor wheels were previously owned by Bill’s grandfather and Bill has his great-grandmother’s rosebushes. A white pine is in honor of Sue’s mother, “a strong quiet woman,” and a collection of dogwood pays tribute to Bill’s father. A snowball bush is a tribute to another grandma.

“We like it because its terraced and we feel like we’re out in the country. It’s kind of private,” Bill said, noting the couple had previously owned a home on 10 acres near the river outside of town. They were delighted to find this property in the city six and a half years ago.

Twenty steps take you to the top of the terrace, where a gazebo awaits. Not just any gazebo, but a “magic gazebo” where the couple’s grandchildren are entertained with twinkling lights and presents.

Eleven ceramic birds are in the garden.

“There are so many things about this yard that we love, so we just keep adding,” Sue said.

Sue likes the path near the side of the house, where you walk in a gate. The sidewalk path is made of bricks taken from their daughter’s 100-year-old home in the Heritage Hill area of Grand Rapids.

Bill is especially pleased with the tomato plants he has in containers this year. Because of the type of soil, they haven’t had good luck planting tomatoes in the ground in previous years. He also likes the variety of flowers in the garden.

George and Donna RonanThe Ronans’ home is located three blocks from downtown Mt. Pleasant. The garden covers two city lots.

According to publicity material, George designed the garden to match the style of the home. Garden areas are edged, using paving stones that once covered the downtown streets. The back yard is ringed with Arborvitae, Weigela and Spiraea. A variety of perennials, particularly many varieties of roses, add color throughout the summer.

DeVere and Gloria BixlerAccording to publicity material, this is a small, hidden back-yard garden with several flower beds with a mix of perennials, annuals and vegetables.

The main feature of the garden would be the pond and waterfalls outside the sunroom. Some areas are private for reading, knitting or just quiet time.

A garden house that was built by DeVere and a friend is used by Gloria to start plants and for repotting.

Ginko Tree InnThe Ginko Tree Inn in downtown Mt. Pleasant often attracts attention from passers-by on Main Street, given its close proximity to downtown.

The formal garden includes flowers to add color, but the statue that is part of the front lawn is what really gets people’s attention. It all adds to the beauty of the renovated old home.

CMU Community GardenThis garden is a project for Campus Grow, a registered student organization at CMU that encourages and educates children, faculty, students and community members on the principles of organic gardening and local food access.

Campus Grow consists of two student-managed gardens on CMU’s west campus, totaling approximately 30,000 square feet in size.

Mindy Norton is the weekend editor and Time Out editor at the Morning Sun. She may be reached at mnorton@michigannewspapers.com, at 989-779-6065 or follow her on Twitter @Mindynorton.